The influence of the reaction gas composition during the DC magnetron sputtering process on the structural, chemical and optical properties of Ce-oxide thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed that all thin films exhibited a polycrystalline character with cubic fluorite structure for cerium dioxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses revealed that cerium is present in two oxidation states, namely as CeO2 and Ce2O3, at the surface of the films prepared at oxygen/argon flow ratios between 0% and 7%, whereas the films are completely oxidized into CeO2 as the aforementioned ratio increases beyond 14%. Various optical parameters for the thin films (including an optical band gap in the range of 2.25–3.

This work investigates the properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposite films with varying multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) content, ranging from 2 to 8 wt.%. The films were prepared using a solution casting method and characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and tensile tests. The prepared PVA/MWCNT nanocomposite films exhibited optical band gap values ranging from 3.5 eV to 5.3 eV. XRD analysis confirmed the semi-crystalline nature of these nanocomposites. Mechanical properties, including hardness, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and Young's modulus, were enhanced by increasing MWCNT content by up to 8%. Contact angle measurements showed an increase in hydrophobicity with in

In this paper, we used two monomers, 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and m,m'-diaminobenzophenone (m, m’-DABP), to produce polyamide acid and then converted it to polyimide (PI). The effects of phosphoric acid (H₃PO₄) molarity (1, 2, and 3 M) on the structural, thermal, mechanical, and electrical characteristics of the polyimides/polyaniline (PI/PANI) nanocomposites were studied. Two sharp reflection peaks were developed by the addition of PANI to PI. When 3 M H₃PO₄ is added, the crystalline sharp peak loses some of its intensity. The complex formation of PI/PANI-H₃PO₄ was confi

The most important environmental constraints at the present time
is the accumulation of glass waste (transparent glass bottles). A lot of
experiments and research have been made on waste and recycling
glass to get use it as much as possible. This research using recycling
of locally waste colorless glass to turn them into raw materials as
alternative of certain percentages of cement to save the environment
from glass waste and reduce some of the disadvantages of cement
with conserving the mechanical and physical properties of concrete
made. A set of required samples were prepared for mechanical test
with different weight percentage of waste glass (2%, 4%, 5%, 6%,
8%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%). American standard

This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of using Hydrated lime as a (partial substitute) by weight of filler (lime stone powder) with five consecutive percentage namely (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0) % by means of aggregate treatment, by introducing dry lime on dry and 2–3% Saturated surface aggregate on both wearing and binder coarse. Marshall design method, indirect tensile test and permanent deformation under repeated loading of Pneumatic repeated load system at full range of temperature (20, 40, 60) C0 were examined The study revealed that the use of 2.0% and 1.5 % of dry and wet replacement extend the pavement characteristics by improving the Marshall properties and increasing the TSR%. Finally, increase permanent

Exposure of reinforced concrete buildings to an accidental fire may result in cracking and loss in the bearing capacity of their major components, columns, beams, and slabs. It is a challenge for structural engineers to develop efficient retrofitting techniques that enable RC slabs to restore their structural integrity, after being exposed to intense fires for a long period of time. Experimental
investigation was carried out on twenty one slab specimens made of self compacting concrete, eighteen of them are retrofitted with CFRP sheets after burning and loading till failure while three of them (which represent control specimens) are retrofitted with CFRP sheet after loading till failure without burning. All slabs had been tested in a

A composite section is made up of a concrete slab attached to a steel beam by means of shear connectors. Under positive and negative bending moment, part of the slab will act as a flange of the beam, resisting the longitudinal compression or tension force. When the spacing between girders becomes large, it is evident that the simple beam theory does not strictly apply because the longitudinal stress in the flange will vary with distance from the girder web, the flange being more highly stressed over the web than in the extremities. This phenomenon is termed "shear lag". In this paper, a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element analysis is employed to evaluate and determine the actual effective slab width of the composite steel-concrete